Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day tour of flood-hit parts of Kerala, said on Tuesday that, if voted to power, his party would set up a separate Ministry for Fisheries.
He said this, while speaking in Alappuzha in Central Kerala, at a reception accorded to fishermen who had ferried their boats to the worst-affected areas and plunged themselves voluntarily into rescue operations.
‘Their voices will be heard’
“The moment a Congress Government comes to power at the Centre, we are going to create a ministry for fisheries,” Rahul said, adding that the fishers, whom he chose to address as God's own army, will have their own ministry.
“A separate ministry will help to understand and look after the problems of the fishermen. Their voices will be heard at the national level,” Rahul added.
He went on to suggest that the Indian Coast Guard utilise the services of fishermen for future rescue operations. “When Kerala needed fishermen, you stood up to the challenge,” he said while thanking them.
“Three thousand fishermen saved 70,000 lives. This is not a small thing. Both farmers and fishermen have helped build this country,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Rahul arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from London after completing a tour to Europe and visited a relief camp at Chengannur in Alappuzha.
He was accompanied by Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly; Oommen Chandy, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Congress Working Committee members; and MM Hassan, President, Pradesh Congress Committee.
Relief camp visit
From Alappuzha, the Congress president took off to Kochi and visited relief camps and the flood-ravaged areas at Aluva, Chendamangalam and Chalakudy.
Rahul is scheduled to stay overnight at Kochi and proceed to Kozhikode in the north of the State on Wednesday morning.
He will visit flood-hit areas and relief camps in Wayanad before returning to Delhi later in the day.